July has been a good month for me, must have bought about 25 razors. All of them I bought between $3-5 each. But I found another Fatboy for $6, with a stuck adjuster dial stuck on 9 and adjuster plate. I told the guy the dial is jammed and asked if I could get the razor for $4 instead of $6, he said o.k. Also I bought a bunch of razors at the same place and got him to knock another $10 off of the final price. So I got a good deal on them. I mostly got a bunch of Tech razors and a few Flare Tip SS and the Fatboy. Anyway I took it home and boiled and soaked the razor, used penetrating oil but the dial still didn't budge. So out came the pliers. I wrapped tape around the dial and wrapped a cloth around the dial, got some long handled pliers for max torque. One good turn, and the adjuster dial was free. A bunch of black crud fell out. Once I freed the dial, I noticed that the blade gap was still wide open even when I dialed it to 1. Then I realized the adjuster plate was stuck too.
I spent about two hours trying the get the plate free. Using oil, WD-40, boiling, ultrasonic cleaner, scrubbing bubbles. Nothing worked. I basically unscrewed the end cap, removed the inner rod/hinges and silo doors, placed the razor upside down on a piece of lumber, so the adjuster plate was resting flush on the piece of wood and placed a block of wood over the end of the handle and whacked it with a hammer. The blow forced the adjusted plate down and again a bunch of black crud fell out. Then I worked the plated back and forth, and kept oiling it with Liquid wrench till it was free. Then put it all back together, now I have a fully functioning gold Fatboy. Took a lot of work, but it's as good as new now. Funny thing is, the razor was very clean when I bought it, hardly any soap scum, but I don't know what got inside to jam up the razor? Must adjustables I've bought hardly have any problems. I've only come across three that has stuck adjuster dials, but never an adjuster plate until now.
I spent about two hours trying the get the plate free. Using oil, WD-40, boiling, ultrasonic cleaner, scrubbing bubbles. Nothing worked. I basically unscrewed the end cap, removed the inner rod/hinges and silo doors, placed the razor upside down on a piece of lumber, so the adjuster plate was resting flush on the piece of wood and placed a block of wood over the end of the handle and whacked it with a hammer. The blow forced the adjusted plate down and again a bunch of black crud fell out. Then I worked the plated back and forth, and kept oiling it with Liquid wrench till it was free. Then put it all back together, now I have a fully functioning gold Fatboy. Took a lot of work, but it's as good as new now. Funny thing is, the razor was very clean when I bought it, hardly any soap scum, but I don't know what got inside to jam up the razor? Must adjustables I've bought hardly have any problems. I've only come across three that has stuck adjuster dials, but never an adjuster plate until now.
